The decks were awash. What about his treasure? Scant moments later the masts of a sailing vessel slid beneath the surface of the Atlantic. The year: 1718. Like all sinking ships, this one scattered artifacts and question marks over its debris field.

Nearly 300 years later, scuba divers identified a wreck lying off the coast of North Carolina. It was the flagship of Blackbeard’s fleet, Queen Anne’s Revenge.

Were you in fourth or fifth grade when you first read some tale of treasure lost and found and sometimes lost again?

Pirates don’t interest you? Maybe your idea of treasure is a prized article of sports memorabilia, an heirloom piece of jewelry, or that old car in the storage unit.

Some will say, “If you have your health, you have just about everything.” Others quickly produce pictures of their first grandchild. We daydream about treasure, display it on our walls, post it on Facebook, keep it in a drawer, or hold it in our arms. Truth is, we can’t get enough of what we love.

But hold on for a second. Name something you once considered to be treasure but which you no longer possess. Was it lost? Damaged? Taken from you by fraud or force?

Would it surprise you to learn that Jesus himself had a strong interest in treasure? Why not? He shared our flesh and blood. Satan even tempted him with the treasures of the world. He was aware of the human desire to possess a treasure, to say, “I count on this thing to make my life good.” Jesus went so far as to suggest that an ordinary person should be able to recognize genuine treasure by asking three questions: Can a moth nibble on it? Can rust break it down? Can a thief steal it? (Matthew 6:19,20).

Visualize your prize. If your answer is yes to any of Jesus’ questions, your treasure doesn’t qualify simply because it’s vulnerable, so exposed to loss.

Name a person you once relied on for help or attention but who is gone. Did he or she move? Die? Forget about you?

A treasure worth the name ought to be something that you can depend on in good times and return to for comfort in tough times.